Liam Neeson is currently making headlines due to his reported romance with his “Naked Gun” co-star Pamela Anderson, but comments that the Irish actor made about racism in the past have resurfaced and caused a fresh wave of controversy. In several social posts, users highlighted the 73-year-old’s past comments in their reactions to posts expressing happiness for Neeson and Anderson’s relationship. The controversy first began in a 2019 interview. In it, Neeson opened up about a time during which he felt motivated to kill a Black man in retaliation for another crime.
What is Liam Neeson’s racial controversy about?
The controversy goes back to an interview that took place in 2019. In the interview, Neeson stated that he once felt motivated to kill a Black man after someone he knew personally had been raped. The “Taken” star first opened up about the time he had thoughts in an interview with The Independent.
During the discussion, Neeson revealed that he had learned about the rape after coming back from overseas. He noted that the woman who was raped “handled the situation in the most extraordinary way.”
The actor recalled his “immediate reaction.” He had asked the victim if she knew who her attacker was, and she told Neeson that it was a Black person.
Neeson recalled walking “up and down areas with a cosh” for a week. He hoped to encounter a “Black b——” coming “out of a pub” in the hopes that the person would initiate an altercation of some kind.
“It took me a week, maybe a week and a half, to go through that,” Neeson explained. “She would say, ‘Where are you going?’ and I would say, ‘I’m just going out for a walk.’ You know? ‘What’s wrong?’ ‘No no, nothing’s wrong.’”
Neeson admitted that what he did back then was “horrible.” However, he did not disclose further details as he wanted to protect the victim. “But I did learn a lesson from it, when I eventually thought, ‘What the f— are you doing,’ you know?”
Neeson’s comments sparked significant backlash after the interview was published. This led to him issuing a statement, wherein he apologized for recounting the incident. He admitted he “missed the point and hurt many people at a time when language is so often weaponized and an entire community of innocent people are targeted in acts of rage.” (via Variety)
